Disney has changed a policy in regards to how guests with disabilities can get on their attractions. Due to incident that happened last Spring that resulted in some guests abusing the policy, guests with disabilities must now wait in line with everyone else. Here is the online article posted today:

Fans of Walt Disney World were fuming last spring following reports of people gaming a system that allowed disabled park guests to advance to the front of lines. Now it seems the entitled few have ruined it for everyone. Disney Parks has just announced a change in policy: People with disabilities will no longer be ushered to the front of lines.

It “certainly has been problematic, and we wanted to curb some of the abuse of this system,” Disneyland Resort spokeswoman Suzi Brown told the Orange County Register.

Further, a statement by Disney, provided to Yahoo Shine through a spokesperson, noted, "We have an unwavering commitment to making our parks accessible to all guests. Given the increasing volume of requests we receive for special access to our attractions, we are changing our process to create a more consistent experience for all our guests while providing accommodations for guests with disabilities. We engaged disability groups, such as Autism Speaks, to develop this new process, which is in line with the rest of our industry.”

According to an Associated Press report, the new policy, which takes effect on Oct. 9, will issue disabled visitors with tickets that offer an entry time and a shorter wait, similar to those of the FastPass system that’s offered to all park guests now.

The change has come in response to numerous reports of guests abusing the system.

In May, for example, social anthropologist Wednesday Martin told the New York Post about one scam in particular: wealthy Manhattan moms hiring a disabled “black-market” guide, who used her position — sitting in a motorized scooter — to help entitled families gain special access to rides. Martin, a former New York Post contributor, uncovered the scheme while conducting research for a forthcoming book, “Primates of Park Avenue,” due out in 2014.

“My daughter waited one minute to get on ‘It’s a Small World’ — the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours,” one unnamed mom had bragged to the Post. “You can’t go to Disney without a tour concierge ... This is how the 1 percent does Disney.”

On Monday, Martin told Yahoo Shine, "While it is admirable that Disney seeks to address abuse of and profiteering from their policy for the disabled by those who got disability passes unfairly, the park's 'solution' penalizes disabled children and adults, who were supposed to be served by the policy in the first place, by revoking their ability to go to the front of the line." She added, "This 'privilege' is actually a necessity for some kids with disabilities. Hopefully Disney will work closely with groups that advocate for people with disabilities to refine this policy so that it actually serves the people who need it the most."

Other criticisms were just beginning to hit Twitter on Monday, with one mom noting that because her daughter suffers from fibromyalgia, she would not be renewing the family's park passes. "See? One more reason we can't have nice things," tweeted another critic of the policy change.

Disney had told Yahoo Shine it was investigating the various scams back in May, and that it would “take appropriate steps to deter this type of activity.” It clearly found reason to change its rules, and, in order to formulate its new policy with sensitivity, looked to others for input.

“Disney reached out to us,” Autism Speaks spokesperson Michael Rosen told Yahoo Shine. “A large segment of our population with autism has sensory issues, so having patience to wait on noisy lines is a really hard thing.”

When Rosen has taken his own son, who has autism, to Disney World, for example, “he would start crying and screaming when we stood on a line, because he didn’t realize that in 25 minutes he would go on a ride. He had no idea why he was standing on a line, and that really takes away from the fun.”

Rosen said Autism Speaks has been urging parents concerned about the change to be patient and wait for the official release of the new policy from Disney. “We worked with them so they would make it as comfortable an experience as possible for our community,” he said.

My opinion on it, I feel for those that have disabilities and that don't abuse the system. But its another one of those cases where some knuckle heads think that rules do not apply to them and their actions ruin it for everyone else. And the change would not have happened if it weren't for said knuckle heads. And I said on a previous post that those that are going through the exit with a person in a wheel chair, the person in the chair SHOULD get on the attraction with them if they are going to use method of getting on without waiting in line. If the person in the chair cannot ride, or doesn't want to ride, then the rest of the party that does should wait in stand by with everyone else. Just my opinion on it. But with this change, I feel for all those that can be affected by it, because not all attraction queues are designed for a wheel chair, are they?

Deep, detailed and frequently rancorous discussion has been going on about this over on the Disneyland side for a week or two now. FWIW, this is a mirror report picked up from the stringers - it's also up on CNN in nearly verbatim format. They've been fighting this issue on a much higher level ever since the reports about the people selling GAC "tours" came out, and it's reached a much wider level of attention because of it.

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Disney has changed a policy in regards to how guests with disabilities can get on their attractions. Due to incident that happened last Spring that resulted in some guests abusing the policy, guests with disabilities must now wait in line with everyone else. Here is the online article posted today:

My opinion on it, I feel for those that have disabilities and that don't abuse the system. But its another one of those cases where some knuckle heads think that rules do not apply to them and their actions ruin it for everyone else. And the change would not have happened if it weren't for said knuckle heads. And I said on a previous post that those that are going through the exit with a person in a wheel chair, the person in the chair SHOULD get on the attraction with them if they are going to use method of getting on without waiting in line. If the person in the chair cannot ride, or doesn't want to ride, then the rest of the party that does should wait in stand by with everyone else. Just my opinion on it. But with this change, I feel for all those that can be affected by it, because not all attraction queues are designed for a wheel chair, are they?

Most attractions are wheelchair accessable. However, for those that aren't, the wheelchair member and party will be going through the exit or through FP line.

Also, there will still be a pass for those that need it. However, you don't always automatically board (depending on the wait of the attraction, you will be given a return time to come back and ride- just like a FP)

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Whatelse could WDW do? Obesity has been becoming the new "disease" for years and the motorized carts have overtaken the crowds. When you run over everyone then get off the cart and run up to the counter, well... I have deep empathy for truly disabled people and would gladly give up my place in line to aid them. We're all in this together.

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I know it's very common to see it as a moral failing, but obesity IS a disease with both physical and emotional root-causes. Whether Disney's accommodation of that is reasonable is the question. They've been giving the benefit of the doubt, which really is the right way to treat a guest.

Of course, now that there's Total Information Awareness, it's going to be trivial to tie your healthcare records to your Disney account, so they're going to have actual medical justification for flagging fastplus+ bands for handicap access.

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I really don't see how the fastpass system is any different than letting people cut in line, and how giving disabled guests fastpasses to get to the front of the line later is all that different than letting them get to the front of the line now. I have no problem with letting disabled people go to the front of the line. Disney doesn't have a problem with that either. Being disabled is no picnic and if not having to wait to get on Pirates of the Caribbean makes a challenging life a little easier, I'm happier to do it.

The problem is rich people hiring disabled "tour guides" so they can skip the lines. That's pretty disgusting and I don't know if giving unlimited fastpasses to these people instead of just letting them cut right away will be enough of a deterrent to make them stop. So thanks entitled rich people, you've ruined something else.

It bothers me when people selectively edit quotes to support whatever point they are trying to prove.